Change of Diet 



Sphaerophoriae, those slender, thong-like crea- 

 tures, and Bombylii, looking like velvet pin- 

 cushions; no again, for in the pits of the 

 Silky Ammophila we shall see, side by side, 

 the caterpillar of the ordinary shape and the 

 Measuring-worm, a living pair of compasses 

 which progresses by alternately opening out 

 and closing; no, once more, for in the store- 

 rooms of Stizus ruficornus and the Mantis- 

 hunting Tachytes we see stacked beside the 

 Mantis the Empusa, her unrecognizable cari- 

 cature. 



Is it the colouring? Not at all. There 

 is no lack of Instances. What a variety of 

 hues and metallic reflections, distributed 

 In a host of different fashions, appear In the 

 Buprestes that are hunted by the Cercerls 

 celebrated by Leon Dufour.^ A painter's 

 palette, containing crushed gold, bronze, 

 ruby and amethyst, would find It difficult to 

 rival these sumptuous colours. Neverthe- 

 less the Cercerls makes no mistake: all this 

 nation of Insects, so differently attired, repre- 

 sents to her, as to the entomologist, the na- 



1 Jean Marie Leon Dufour (1780-1865) was an army 

 surgeon who served with distinction in several campaigns 

 and subsequently practised as a doctor in the Landes. He 

 attained great eminence as a naturalist. Cf. The Hunting 

 JVasps: chap. i. ; also The Life of the Spider: chap. i. — 

 Translator's Note. 



179 



